I wasn't actually certain why you'd asked for the Animal Handling check as well there, so it was a bit of crossed wires.  ^^;  I take it my guess of Frida having a full nest is accurate then?  Would the 17 result be enough for Mallory to do something like enter the stall with Frida and visually confirm an egg being there while keeping her calm to not go aggressive?  Not moving any egg or such; just shuffling around the hay enough to see it without Frida trying to take her head off.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Tue 28 Sept 2021.

Yeah, that's what I figured the Investigation was for. Both rolls succeeded, so you're clear for lift-off!

As fun as it is to contend with Mallory's trademark bad luck, I feel for the others; this scene has dragged on a fair bit with no readily available solution at hand while the others are left twiddling their thumbs waiting to get a move on.  It's been nearly a week of real-time now.

Which would be the easier case to have going forward, DM?  Taking the egg with us and thus (hopefully, presumably) gaining Frida's cooperation, or leaving Frida behind and taking a different Axe Beak (which hopefully, presumably) would be easier to manage on account of not being a brooding hen at the moment?

If it makes matters slightly better, I'm glad I could stall you for a bit. You have, after all, advanced the plot in an unexpected direction. Not that it matters too much.


If you would rather have Mallory choose another Axe beak that's fine by me, but taking the egg with you is certainly an option. It's entirely up to you :)

All things considered, the presence of an egg takes Frida out of the running entirely because it's just too much of a hassle.  Either we have to contend with carrying around a huge egg for months while making sure it's always within the awareness of Frida so she won't become unmanageable until such a time that she stops caring about it (at which point it's surely going to be rotten and horrible), or it hatches and we have a fledgling Axe Beak to deal with.  Like, no matter how bothersome some behavior from the other birds might be or mild-mannered Frida is, she's 100% not an option so long as the egg is in the picture.

So... with the others, I suppose I'll just go ahead and roll a string of Animal Handling checks to see which one Mallory vibes with.

Dallin = 5
Nivar = 5
Wifni = 10
Tori = 4

Wifni it is.  Great googily moogily, these rolls... >_>

Can it be assumed that, aside from the individual birds' personalities, that they'll basically be cooperative mounts that won't require a roll unless being pushed into an action they're not keen on?  Like, just getting them to carry Mallory and Dannika isn't going to require checks?

While I'm not sure I agree with your reasoning, it is also not my decision to make. Carry on with Wifni if that's what you want.


Yes. Animal Handling will take place whenever Animal Handling is appropriate. Simply riding a domesticated animal would not such an instance. The only reason Frida has required so many is because she had different intentions than Mallory and Dannika. For future Animal Handling checks the DC will just be higher for Wifni than it would be for Frida.

Could you elaborate where Frida is concerned?  I don't mean to pry into the meta or anything, but my reasoning is based on the idea that Frida was the easiest to handle of the group but rendered non-viable as a direct result of the Nat 1 I rolled.  If I'm wrong about that, clarification would be appreciated.

Sure. I didn't intend for the Nat 1 to render her unavailable, but to introduce her with a problem, in a way. Whether or not you can solve that problem is another matter, one that is mostly out of my hands. In essence, it's sort of taking "yes, and . . ." and turning it into a "yes, but . . .". I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and use the opportunity to flesh out Frida's character for a bit.

Frida is definitely meant to be the easiest to handle, but the egg is a problem. It's meant to be. If you'd rather contend with a different Axe Beak as opposed to the egg, then that is your choice to make. And regarding the fleshing out of characters, there would be plenty of opportunity to imbue Wifni with a personality of her own, so don't let that influence your decision. After all, this is a roleplaying game and not a novel :)

I was looking at it in a more binary yes/no sort of light then, apparently.  Given what the in-universe knowledge of Axe Beaks and their behavior would be, rather than player assumptions, would the Stable Master, Mallory, or Rhydd (since he's made the highest Animal Handling check thus far) reasonably know of any way to manage the egg in a way that an Axe Beak would find acceptable?

This has all turned very much into a far bigger instance than I was ever anticipating and I feel as though things are getting stalled on Mallory-specific events again, so I'm inclined to want to hasten this along.

The answer is probably as straight forward as it gets; you'll have to bring the egg with you, trust Frida understands the egg is being moved, and then juggle it so Frida gets time to incubate. It would probably render Frida unavailable for long distance travel (more than 4-5 hours), unless you take breaks in-between. To lift the veil even further, it is stated plainly in the module that sled dogs require breaks every single hour or they gain a level of exhaustion. Which is . . . a strange way to handle it? Dogs can definitely run for a few hours at a time, but they'll require a proportionately long rest.

As to any specific nesting information on Axe Beaks, the wiki is scarce, so we'll have to infer from other big birds in real life, such as the ostrich or emu. Dodos were also somewhat large, speaking of flightless birds. The incubation period is about 42 days for ostriches, 56 for emus, and it is said to be 49 for dodos. Let's put it around 50 days.

From some quick google searching, it seems like one of two things are going to happen if you move the egg from its current nest; Frida is going to abandon it, or she is going to keep incubating it. Either way you should be good, right? Whether or not Frida will become pissy is another matter, but if anything has been established at this point it is that she is mostly cooperative. That is, as long as she realizes the egg has been moved, which could be found out by some quick trial and error. Since we need to expedite things we can handle this OOC, and since it is fully within my jurisdiction, I'm just going to go ahead and say you're good.

Dannika would be able to help you bring the egg to Bryn Shander since she has a bag of holding (you wrap it in some cloth first to pad it), but if you wish to use Frida for other distances you should be prepared to carry it on your own. If all of this is too much I suggest you just go with Wifni. That option is definitely on the table, don't let me try to talk you into anything!

Let's just go with Wifni.  It'll be easier in the long run in any case; Mallory doesn't need a fast mount, just a reliable one, and not having to worry about Frida busting locks and incurring additional fees when left to stable is better.

Wifni it is! I'll post sometime later tonight :)

As a heads-up; my ISP is currently down and I have limited internet access for the immediate future.  Hopefully this will get resolved quickly, as typing via smartphone is a huge pain in the butt, but I currently have no ETA.

Alright, thanks for letting us know :)

Bears,

I think that Rhydd would be interested in doing a sweep of the area, to see if he can spot any additional tracks from someone or something who might have threatened the caravan, causing it to veer off of the roadway.

Will Rhydd's original Survival check stand, or do you need another one?

Thanks.

And good luck with your ISP issues, Mallory. That sort of stuff is quite the bother!

I can assist if you’d like.

And give you a pay on the back for a d4 of good luck.

Which everyone forgets asking me about before they roll. :p

Sure, give me new Survival roll and add Farwalker's Guidance.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 988):

Here you go:


13:48, Today: Rhydd Maldhon rolled 15,2 using d20+4,d4 with rolls of 11,2.  Survival Check re: Caravan

Total rolled: 17

Thanks, Farwalker. :)

I was also offering to actually assist, given that Farwalker has survival as well.

In other news, I also have Enhance Ability. In case anyone ever really wants advantage for something.

Could I make a check for Torgrim to study the single tracks? Mostly if they've moved quicker in one direction than the other or something else that could give a clue to the riders intention.

In reply to Torgrim Squallborn (msg # 991):

Be my guest. That sounds like an Investigation to my ears.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 992):

Oh, boy! His favourite!

22:03, Today: Torgrim Squallborn rolled 17 using 1d20-1 ((18)).

Well, that went better than expected. A rare moment of clarity from Mr. Torgrim.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:06, Sun 03 Oct 2021.

I'll have the opportunity to post sometime tomorrow afternoon, so I'll resolve the rolls then.

At the risk of jinxing it, I do seem to have my internet issues resolved.  Though just in time for it to appear we're almost out of posts here in the OOC thread, DM.  Time for another!

We are indeed. I'll set it up after this reply. I sort of want to see what happens once we exceed the limit, but from what I gather from a google search leading me to some ancient rpol threads it would just disable the 'all' option at the top of the thread. Which is useful at times when I need to CTRL+F to find something, so let's avoid that on second thought.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:08, Mon 04 Oct 2021.